Brian Wolfe, Former Blue Jays Pitcher, Dead At 45

Former Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Brian Wolfe died earlier this week.

He was only 45 years old.

Wolfe passed away early Tuesday morning, according to his wife, Rachell, who posted the tragic news on social media, saying her husband died “after a really really difficult and torturous battle.”

She didn't provide any further info, and Wolfe's cause of death is unclear.

The Fullerton, CA native was a sixth-round draft pick of the Minnesota Twins out of high school in 1999. After bouncing around the minors for several years, Wolfe was traded to Toronto in 2006.

A year later, he was in the big leagues ... and he had a heckuva good season with the Jays, appearing out of the pen in 38 games, finishing the season with a 2.98 ERA.

Over three seasons in Toronto, Brian pitched in 72 MLB games, finishing with a 5-5 record and a 3.81 ERA.

After the 2009 season, he headed to Japan, where he spent the rest of his baseball career.

Wolfe was even teammates with Shohei Ohtani on the Nippon-Ham Fighters. He also won two Japan Series titles with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks ('14 & '15).

Brian retired from the game at 37 years old after the 2018 season.

Wolfe is survived by his wife.

Brian was 45.